Hot Topics:

Sequester cuts could cost Fort Indiantown Gap $19M

Automatic federal-budget cuts will go into effect March 1 unless a deal is reached to put them off

By BRAD RHENLebanon Daily News

Updated:
02/22/2013 09:48:26 PM EST

A military vehicle turns onto Route 934 at Fort Indiantown Gap Friday. The Gap could lose about $19 million in funding, and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard as a whole would lose about $30.81 million if automatic federal-budget cuts go into effect. (LEBANON DAILY NEWS JEREMY LONG)

If a deal is not reached by Thursday to stop automatic federal-budget cuts from taking effect, those cuts will have a major impact on Fort Indiantown Gap and the Pennsylvania National Guard, officials say.

In addition, hundreds of federal employees across the state could be furloughed if the automatic cuts, known as sequestration, go into effect.

The exact amount of money that will be cut is not yet available, National Guard spokeswoman Maj. Angela King-Sweigart said Friday. However, an Army document obtained by USA Today indicates the Gap stands to lose about $19 million in funding, and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard as a whole would lose about $30.81 million.

"What we're doing is trying to mitigate the impact on our employees and operations," King-Sweigart said.

"If sequester were to happen, it will have a significant impact. It will impact all facets of our operations. It's going to impact our personnel, it's going to impact our training, it's going to impact our equipment, and it's going to impact our facilities and maintenance."

State adjutant general Maj. Gen. Wesley Craig told ABC-27 this week the cuts could have a devastating effect on the Guard's readiness.

"If there's another major snowstorm or a problem with a blizzard or a hurricane, I have less troops, and they're less ready," Craig said. "I have less equipment I could put in the field for the governor, so that's a bad thing.

Advertisement

That upsets me greatly that (the federal government) would feel so ill of us that they would argue over political differences at the expense of people who are willing to put their lives on the line to defend the country."

About 98 percent of the state's civilian work force would be affected by the sequester, King-Sweigart explained. Statewide, about 900 federally funded Army National Guard employees face furloughs if sequestration happens. Of those, about 650 work at the Gap.

This also affects 780 Air National Guard employees across the state, including up to 357 federal employees at the 193rd Special Operations Wing based out of Middletown, she added. That includes the 193rd's geographically separated units at Fort Indiantown Gap.

If the furloughs are enacted, all affected employees will be given a 30-day notice. Each would be furloughed for up to a total of 22 days between the effective date of the furlough and Sept. 30. This would equate to a 20 percent reduction in pay for those employees.

"It's a difficult situation for all of our employees, and we're doing everything we can to keep them informed and mitigate the impact," King-Sweigart said.

The term "sequestration" refers to the automatic budget cuts for all budgetary items that have not been exempted by statute. Under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, across-the-board reductions are scheduled to take place March 1 unless legislation is enacted that avoids such reductions.

Overall, the military faces $500 billion in budget cuts over 10 years from sequestration, according to USA Today.

Pennsylvania is among the states hardest hit by the Army cuts. Overall, Pennsylvania stands to lose about $1.15 billion in federal funding for Army activities, and more than 10,000 jobs will be affected in one way or another, according to USA Today.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The death of actor Leonard Nimoy last week has inspired people to post photos on social media of marked-up five-dollar Canadian banknotes that show former prime minister Wilfrid Laurier transformed to resemble Spock, Nimoy's famous "Star Trek" character. Full Story